Divorce cases overwhelm the High Court

DIVORCE cases continue to overwhelm the High Court despite calls from religious, legal and traditional leaders for couples in the country to safeguard the marriage institution, Judge President Justice George Chiweshe, said yesterday.

Speaking during the official opening of the 2015 legal year at the Bulawayo High Court, he said divorce matters dominated cases handled by the court last year.

"As I mentioned during last year's official opening, divorce cases are on the rise. The cases rose to 476 and to us that's a major concern. We are worried about the rate at which couples are divorcing," said Justice Chiweshe.

He said the High Court recorded 475 unopposed divorce applications in 2014 and 467 were dealt  with.

In 2013, 473 divorce summons were issued compared to 425 in 2012.

Children have been the biggest victims in the cases with about 90 percent of the couples applying for divorce asking the High Court to rule on the custody of the children.

Apart from the divorce cases, Justice Chiweshe said the courts were faced by a number of challenges that included the perennial shortage of court rooms and office space.

"The Bulawayo station has done well and we would like to appreciate judges, legal practitioners and support staff of their efforts. As reported last year, the High Court continues to operate under certain structural constraints that need to be addressed so judges have time and space to produce quality judgments," he said.

"We would like to commend the Judicial Service Commission as conditions of service for judges improved significantly with regards to appropriate motor vehicles."